Celebrating Our Independence

"Not all Tamils support the Tigers. And the political landscape of Sri Lanka is also changing whether by understanding and conviction or by expediency."
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By Vipul

(February 04, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Sri Lanka is marking its 61st Independence Day as the army is said to be on the verge of crushing the Tamil Tigers after a 25-year war.

The future for the people of the North and the East, despite claims of its 'liberation' - is a matter of concern to all patriotic Sri Lankans as they celebrate the Freedom Day.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa said this week in Kandy that no community in this country will be allowed to be hostage of another community or group under his rule.

His government has said that it is on the verge of defeating the insurgents and ushering in peace after decades of ethnic bloodshed, but the Tamils are as fearful as ever.

Sri Lankans must search for lasting peace even before the flames of conflict in the North and the East are extinguished. Politics was and is the other divisive factor. National reconciliation will be a tough task but an achievable objective.

Ethnic Tamil civilians reduced to submission by the feared insurgents or the “boys” are equally apprehensive of government forces even as the military announced it hoped to finish off the militants by April.

In recent months, the army has wrested all major towns once controlled by the Tigers, who are now defending a 300-sq-km pocket, or 115 sq miles.

“The strongholds of terror once believed to be invincible,” President Rajapaksa said, “have fallen in rapid succession, bringing the final elimination of terror from our motherland and the dawn of true freedom to all our people well within our reach”. He made his remarks in a message to mark the Independence Day.

Not all Tamils support the Tigers. And the political landscape of Sri Lanka is also changing whether by understanding and conviction or by expediency. Even the TNA is beginning to dissociate itself from the insurgents. The UNP has started praising the victories of the forces.

“All the communities should get-together as a nation so that they can usher peace, prosperity and enjoy the benefits arising out of it,” the President said at the meeting in Kandy.


But the Tamils residing in Sri Lanka are generally living on edge, say media reports.

Tamils are worn down by the fighting and living under both regimes - either Tiger or the Colombo government and have little energy left for anything but survival.

Innocent civilians for no fault of their own have reportedly been victimised in the ongoing conflict in Mullaitivu.

“There is no freedom for us,” a Tamil woman was quoted as saying with a shrug when asked what she felt ahead of the independence anniversary celebrations.

“What is freedom when our houses are often checked and army people think we are Tigers?” she asked in a AFP news report.

Opposition legislator Mano Ganeshan, quoted by the same report, said the speed with which the military was gaining ground should be matched with political attempts to bring about a lasting peace.

“I see very high-speed activity in the war theatre, but no speed in the political theatre,” Ganeshan said.

“Until a permanent solution is found, Tamils will feel vulnerable. At the moment, we feel like unwanted guests in this country.”

It is the first time the Sri Lankan government has come this close to a military solution to Asia's longest running civil war, centred over demands for a separate Tamil state in the north and the east.

As for a political solution, a successful example already exists in the region--Aceh, Indonesia. The people of Aceh and Indonesia found peace in a commonality of interest and purpose. They left behind the shackles of their pasts. And history became nothing more than an academic exercise.

Sri Lankans should also work hard towards a negotiated political settlement soon.

Tamil leaders such as Sir Ponnambalam Ramanathan played a constructive role in gaining independence from the British.

He championed the causes of all communities in the Island

It is reported that during the widespread and prolonged Sinhala-Muslim riots of 1915, the British governor came down with a heavy hand on the Sinhalese community and declared martial law and ordered the police and the army to arrest and imprison several prominent Sinhalese leaders. It is said that some other leaders were shot without trial. Ramanathan came to the rescue of the Sinhalese community and fought hard and long against the actions of the British government.

However, it is our bitter and divisive political culture that has so far prevented a reasonable arrangement for power sharing since 1948.

We know well that when the government in power came up with a plan for devolution, the opposition derailed it, and the same government derailed it in turn when it assumed the role of the opposition, both parties taking turns to appease extremist sentiment.

But President Rajapaksa has promised Tamils their “peace and freedom” will follow the end of the LTTE.

It is hoped Sri Lankans are heading for a prosperous era under his stewardship. -Sri Lanka Guardian